Emergency Management

The Beadle County Office of Emergency Management is responsible for preparing the county for possible disasters from preparation, response, recovery and mitigation of future disasters. The office is Beadle County’s liaison to the State of South Dakota Office of Emergency Management. The office is responsible for the reporting of SARA Title II hazardous chemical inventories in the County, flood plain administration and the organization and upkeep of various county emergency and recovery plans. The Office includes the following divisions:

Beadle County Storm Spotters

CERT Team or Community Emergency Response Team

Beadle County Search and Rescue Dive Team

Beadle County Emergency Operations Center or EOC

All of the above listed division of the Emergency Management Office are staffed and/or run by volunteers including the Huron Amateur Radio Club (CERT and Storm Spotters). Volunteers are specifically needed for the EOC and CERT Team. For more information on these great ways to give back to the community please contact the office. The contact information is listed at the top of the page.

Want to make a difference in your community during a disaster? Want to be able to help your family and neighbors during and after a disaster?

Become a CERT Team member! If you are interested and a Beadle County resident check out the FEMA website about CERT teams.

fema.gov/community-emergency-response-teams

Call 605-353-8421 to become a member of Beadle County CERT Team One

Beadle County Dive Team members standing by at the 2013 Polar Plunge held at Ravine Lake in Huron.

The Beadle County Dive Team operates under the Beadle County Emergency Management Office and consists of

15 volunteer members. The Team is also a United Way agency.

The Pierre Dive Team and Beadle County Dive Team co-hosted this event. It was held on May 22nd and 23rd 2010 and included 1 pool check-out dive and 2-3 actual current dives in the tailrace below Oahe Dam.

Bridgette Wanner with safety diver and 90% diver in Zodiac during “Current Dive training” in the tailrace of the Oahe Dam. Current was running very fast through this opening from main channel into a sand flat.

Notice the rope network set up to move the Zodiac from side to side and back away from the rigging.

Huron Fire Department responding to a “Suspicious white powder” call at Olsen Implement. Due to a strong odor emanating from the unknow substance, the business was evacuated for the day.

The substance was cleaned up as good as possible and a sample sent to the State Health Lab in Pierre for testing. The laboratory technicians did not quit that day until they had determined that the substance was not hazardous to health.

We received that phone call at 11 pm that evening. Olsen Implement opened as usual the next morning. It was never determined where the substance originated from.

Beadle County Commission being awarded the Storm Ready designation by Todd Heitkamp from the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls South Dakota

NOAA’s NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DESIGNATES BEADLE COUNTY, SD A STORM READY COUNTY

(09-04-03) – The next time severe weather threatens, both Beadle County, SD and the City of Huron, SD, will be ready for the storm.

Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) announced that Beadle County, SD and the City of Huron, SD have both been declared to be on the federal agency’s list of StormReady counties and cities.

“StormReady encourages counties and communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations and public awareness,” said Greg Harmon, Meteorologist-in-charge of NWS – Sioux Falls. The nationwide community preparedness program uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle local severe weather and flooding threats.

The program is voluntary, and provides communities with clear-cut advice from a partnership with the local Weather Service Office, state and local emergency managers, and the media. StormReady was started in Tulsa, Okla., as a local effort to educate residents about storm safety. Harmon said the Weather Service’s goal is to make at least 20 communities StormReady each of the next five years.

Todd Heitkamp, warning coordination meteorologist at the Sioux Falls, SD, Weather Service office will present a StormReady recognition letter and special StormReady signs to Tom Moeding, Beadle county emergency management director. The signs will be displayed prominently in the city and county.

“Every year, around 500 Americans lose their lives to severe weather and floods,” Todd Heitkamp said. “More than 10,000 thunderstorms, 2,500 floods, 1,000 tornadoes, and 10 hurricanes impact the United States annually. Potentially deadly weather can impact every person in the country. That’s why the National Weather Service developed the StormReady program.”

To be certified as StormReady, communities and counties must:

Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center;

Have more than one way to receive severe weather forecasts and warnings and to alert the public;

Create a system that monitors local weather conditions;

Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars;

“The United States is the most severe weather prone region of the world,” Heitkamp said, “The mission of the National Weather Service is to reduce the loss of life and property from these storms, and StormReady will help us create better prepared communities throughout the country.”

“Just like counties and communities, families need to be storm ready by having an action plan for severe weather. Through StormReady, the National Weather Service plans to educate every American about what to do when severe weather strikes because it is ultimately each individual’s responsibility to protect himself or herself. Only you can save your own life. The best warnings in the world won’t save you if you don’t take action when severe weather threatens,” said Heitkamp.

NOAA’s National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. To learn more about the National Weather Service, please visit www.nws.noaa.gov or www.stormready.noaa.gov.

Huron Police offer essential tips for calling 9-1-1 in an emergency.With a growing number of households dropping traditional phone service in favor of wireless devices Huron Police Dispatchers are offering several tips for providing information to allow for the quickest response in an emergency.Where is your emergency?
Often the first question asked by 911 dispatchers this is the most crucial piece of information to aid responders to find you quickly in an emergency. While landline telephones provide dispatchers with accurate mapping in most cases, cell phones often bounce between different towers and may only be able to provide a general location of the caller within a few blocks. Residents are encouraged to provide accurate address information, pay attention to details such as landmarks, cross streets, and colors of houses to aid responders in finding a location. Huron Police Dispatchers answer 9-1-1 calls for five counties in eastern South Dakota covering an area of five thousand seventy square miles. Often incidents can be occurring in different counties simultaneously making obtaining accurate location information essential when making a wireless call.

Help the dispatcher and responders help you!
Remain calm. This can be one of the most difficult yet important things you can do in an emergency. Listen to questions carefully and answer them to the best of your ability. The questions call takers ask, no matter how relevant they seem to you, are important in helping dispatchers determine what type of situation may be occurring and aid in helping responders find you quickly. Huron city ordinance requires houses be marked with house numbers clearly in a visible location from the street.

If you do call 9-1-1, even by mistake, DO NOT HANG UP.
Dispatchers are trained to obtain the most critical information as quickly as possible to get help on the way to an emergency. Allow the dispatcher time to ask all the questions they need before you leave the phone. Often they will remain on the phone with you providing helpful instructions until the arrival of responders. If you happen call 9-1-1 by accident stay on the line until you can tell the dispatcher that you called by mistake and there is no emergency. This saves the call taker from having to call you back to confirm help is not needed. Huron Police follow up on hang-up 9-1-1 calls to ensure there is no emergency.

Teach your children when and how to use 9-1-1.
Kids should know how to call 9-1-1 and to trust the call taker. Be sure they know how to use home and cell phones. They will need to be able to provide their names, parent’s names, telephone number, and most importantly address information. Let them know to remain on the phone until help arrives.

By following these few tips you can help first responders get to you as quickly and safely as possible in the event of an emergency.